Broward And Palm Counties Mull Joint Garbage Disposal

March 15, 1985|By Steve Nichol, Staff Writer

BOCA RATON — Agreeing that garbage knows no boundary, representatives of Broward County and Palm Beach County decided Thursday to have the two counties work together to explore ways to dispose of the waste together.

Broward Commissioner Ed Kennedy and Ken Spillias, a Palm Beach County Solid Waste Authority representative and also a county commissioner, said they would seek immediate approval from each group to start studying the issue of disposal on a regional basis.

A bi-county agreement could result.

Broward commissioners will consider the request Tuesday, Kennedy said, and the decision will be in time for the SWA meeting Wednesday, noted Spillias.

The purpose of the joint staff meetings would be to outline ``possible scenarios and identify the problems to be overcome,`` said Spillias.

The meeting in Boca Raton City Hall between the two commissioners was the first time elected officials from both counties had sat down to discuss solid waste disposal. The meeting was applauded by Boca Raton City Engineer John Carroll.

When Boca Raton was seriously considering building a garbage burning plant, Carroll said, it was looking at ways to siphon off garbage heading toward SWA landfills in order to run its plant at greater efficiency.

It has since shelved garbage plant plans indefinitely.

Broward County officials are eyeing two sites in the Pompano Beach area for a potential garbage-to-energy burning plant, to which the various private contractors could bring their loads.

Meanwhile, 11 miles away, west of Boca Raton, the SWA is eyeing a 1,290-acre site for a trash landfill and garbage-burning plant.

Residents from both the Pompano Beach and Boca Raton areas oppose the recovery plants being near them.

Spillias, in fact, has shown great reluctance to consider the site west of Boca Raton that is just north of the Hillsboro Canal near the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge.